Tuesday's Travels

Yesterday I met my friend Susan up at Camping World.  She has to have some more work done on her RV and, at Camping World, that usually means at least a couple of days stay.  On the upside, they plug her 5th wheel in and she is able to stay in it.  That's key if you are a full-timer.  After a relaxing breakfast at IHOP, we set out to find something to do for a few hours.  We made a quick stop at Naegelin's Bakery to pick up a few things Susan wanted for her freezer.  Naegelin's is the oldest Bakery in Texas - 144 year's old this year.  It specializes in German bakery items but they have almost everything you can think of, at least on a weekday morning.  One of the things you should pay attention to if you visit New Braunfel's is the murals on the walls of buildings in the downtown area.  They are very interesting and give a great history lesson when you check them out.  Each one is different and this one was on the building on one side of Naegelin's parking lot.

We decided we would go to Gruene and walk around since Angel, Susan's little dog, was with us.  But  then we saw a sign for the Schlitterbaun Christmas Shoppe and decided to check it out.  Angel was happy to wait for us in the truck since the weather was nice and cool.

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 Some of the parking right in front of the Shoppe is reserved for reindeer :).

We walked through the main shoppe out to the patio area first.  It's a courtyard surrounded by small shops and boutiques.  Nice things but a bit expensive.

Each building is unique.  We had the place to ourselves out here.

We also looked through the main shoppe.  They have every Christmas decoration you can think of and lots of decorating ideas.  Of course, RVers really don't need much to decorate their smaller castles do they?

Next we were off to Gruene.  Susan had not been there and I just figured it would be a nice place to walk around.  Angel could also walk around with us.  This Bed and Breakfast is right across from the big parking lot set behind the buildings.  It was cool out but not bad at all walking around.  By cool, I mean mid 60s, not exactly northern winter weather but cool for us.

I didn't take a lot of pictures but we stopped and went in to quite a few stores.  Angel was so good while I waited outside with her that she usually got invited inside as long as there was no food being served.   Winter in central Texas means you still have flowers blooming.  Isn't this pretty?

We stopped at the local coffee shop and Susan wanted to see the Pickle Store next door.  A whole store, just pickles.  The main store is in Boerne and this is the only other place you can get these pickles.

On that note, we made a quick stop at PetSmart and then back to Camping World as it was about 4:30PM.  Guess what?  They were still just chasing down parts for the work.  Susan definitely has more patience than I do.

An Afternoon in New Braunfels, Tx

New Braunfels, a small city located northeast of San Antonio, is a great place to spend an afternoon.  It was founded by early German colonists in 1845 led by Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels.  Prince Solms was commissioner general of the Adelsverein, the group which organized hundreds of German people to emigrate to Texas.  In 2010, New Braunfels became the sister city of Braunfels, German.  Located right off I-35, New Braunfels is very easy to find.  Once you take the exit towards the downtown area, you will find that the pace slows down.  It doesn't matter if you are a sports enthusiast, an outdoor nature lover, shopper, history buff, or just a sightseer, you find plenty of things to do here.

The downtown area is centered around the Main Plaza located in the middle of a traffic circle.

If you haven't had breakfast or need an afternoon pick-up, head over to Naegelin's Bakery.  Naegelin's is the oldest bakery in Texas and has been around since 1868.  You'll find delicious German, French, and Danish pastries and bread to choose from.  They also have coffee so you can relax at one of the small tables out front and enjoy the goodies.  They are famous for their strudel and numerous people came in to pick up large orders while I was there.

As you walk around the downtown area, you will notice numerous outdoor mural paintings adorning the buildings.  You will also find a number of art galleries and several antique and collectible shops.

 Another business which is even older than Naegelin's Bakery is Henne Hardware.  Texas's oldest hardware store has been serving New Braunfels customers since 1857.

Inside Henne's, you will see the original tin ceiling and wood flooring plus old fixtures like rolling ladders and money trolleys as well as new hardware products and unique gift items.

Another downtown fixture in the Phoenix Saloon which was originally built in 1871.  It was reputedly the first bar in Texas to serve women.  In the 1890's, the bar featured badger fights and an alligator pit.  Chili powder was invented here by William Gebhardt in 1894.  Prohibition closed it in 1918 but an illegal brewery operated out of the basement before a department store eventually took over the bar area.

After a two year renovation, the bar was reopened in 2010 and every thing possible was recycled.  It has been featured on the Food Network.

You will find the Seekatz Opera House just down the street.

If you are a museum lover, you'll want to stop by the New Braunfels Railroad Museum.  Of course, you'll just be touching on what is available here.  You'll also find the McKenna Children's Museum, The Buckhorn Barbershop Museum, The Lindheimer Haus, and the Heritage Village Museum of Texas Handmade Furniture.

This barely touches on what you can find to do in New Braunfels.  There are two coffee shops downtown in addition to numerous German restaurants as well as those featuring Mexican and American cuisine, many featuring well-known chefs. If you want to spend the night, you'll find plenty of motels, hotels, and bed & breakfasts.  There are also numerous RV parks and resorts in the area.

And I didn't even mention Schlitterbahn, the world's first water resort and voted World's Best Waterpark for 13 consecutive years. They have recently added a new park area called Tubenbach to their already state-of-the-art water attractions.  If you aren't in to water parks, you might enjoy their huge Christmas shop.  Next up are some of the more natural attractions for this area.